Electronic fetal monitors help medical personnel track the health of a laboring mother and her baby in the womb. Fetal monitors are especially useful in high-risk pregnancies. The technology has some drawbacks, including false positives that may lead to unnecessary interventions, but it can also detect emergencies. Fetal monitors can be applied externally or internally. External monitors are wrapped around the mom's belly and can be applied by nurses. Internal monitors are thin wires that are inserted into the baby's scalp by doctors. Fetal monitoring measures the fetal heart rate, especially in response to the mother's contractions.
Step 1
Evaluate each of the three main parts of the graphs on a fetal monitoring printout. The top section displays the fetal heart rate, measured in beats per minute. The middle section shows time in intervals of 10 seconds. The bottom section displays the mother's uterine contractions.
Step 2
Determine the baseline heart rate. The beats per minute are displayed on the top graph of the chart. The normal range is between 120 and 160 beats per minute, or bpm. Any variation of more than 10 bpm that lasts for more than 15 minutes signifies a change in the heart rate.
Step 3
View the bottom section on the monitor strip to identify uterine contractions. You will see spikes in the line on the graph when a contraction occurs.
Step 4
Compare the top and bottom sections of the monitor strip to evaluate changes in the fetal heart rate in response to contractions. It is normal for the fetal heart rate to rise along with the contraction, but it should return to the baseline level within 15 seconds after the end of the contraction. A fetal heart rate that falls below the baseline can indicate an emergency situation.
